But they also believe that there are too many political restrictions, a new survey has found.
Most also agree that Singapore should have a powerful leader who can run the government as he thinks fit.
Yet many also want everyone to be able to criticise the government publicly, the Singapore Straits Times reported today.
According to the newspaper, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) polled 1,092 citizens aged 21 years and above in July and August last year and found a generation gap in political orientation.
Those aged below 40 displayed a more “liberal” political attitude than those aged 40 to 59, who in turn were generally more liberal than those aged above 60, the newspaper said.
The survey asked respondents to indicate their agreement, or lack thereof, regarding four statements.
Two were “conservative” in nature: “Singapore should have a powerful leader who can run the government as he thinks fit”, and “It is more important to have good economic growth than freedom of speech”.
On these statements, seven out of 10 respondents said they “agreed” or “strongly agreed”.
The other two statements were “liberal” in nature, invoking criticisms which have been levelled at the PAP government: “There are two many rules against participating in political activities in Singapore,” and “Everyone should be given the freedom to criticise the government publicly.”
Six out of 10 agreed or strongly agreed that there were too many rules; five out of 10 agreed or strongly agreed that everyone should be able to criticise the government, the newspaper reported.
